Scraping device having a swingable gate

ABSTRACT

A scraping device adapted to be drawn back and forth across the silt or mud loaded bottom of a stock tank or pond for example, being drawn in one direction by a towing vehicle to position the device for loading, and being drawn in the opposite direction to remove and discharge the load over the pond dam. The device includes a rectangular frame having side walls with the bottom edges of the side walls forming runners or skids. A swingable gate defines a rear end wall, and is swingable inwardly of the device about a horizontal axis at the top of the frame with outward movement being limited to a substantially vertical position to define the closed end wall position.

United States Patent [191 Stout et a1.

[451 Feb. 12, 1974 1 SCRAPING DEVICE HAVING A SWINGABLE GATE [22] Filed: Sept. 17, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 181,326

[52] US. Cl 172/265, 37/71, 37/115, 37/136 [51] Int. Cl E021 3/60 [58] Field of Search. 37/54, 71,115,119,135,136; 172/265, 26.6

4/1958 Australia 37/135 12,444 9/1928 Australia..... 172/265 232,912 2/1961 Australia. 37/115 228,882 6/1960 Australia 37/135 Primary ExaminerRobert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-Clifford D. Crowder Attorney, Agent, or FirmCecil L. Wood et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A scraping device adapted to be drawn back and forth across the silt or mud loaded bottom of a stock tank or pond for example, being drawn in one direction by a towing vehicle to position the device for loading, and being drawn in the opposite direction to remove and discharge the load over the pond dam. The device includes a rectangular frame having side walls with the bottom edges of the side walls forming runners or skids. A swingable gate defines a rear end wall, and is swingable inwardly of the device about a horizontal axis at the top of the frame-with outward movement being limited to a substantially vertical position to define the closed end wall position.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDFEBIZISH 3.791.455

INVENTORS Fig.2 Jock L51 Jlmmy Stout ATTORNEYS PAIENTEB FEB 1 2 I974 SHEET 2 0F 2 QINVENTORS Jpck L.-S.tou1 Jnmmy Stout M 2,. 7 4/ ATTOR EYS SCRAPING DEVICE HAVING A SWINGABLE GATE BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an apparatus and method for the removing of mud, silt or other debris which has accumulated in a stock tank or pond for example.

Because of the accumulation of silt or other debris in the bottom of a stock tank over a period of time, it is desirable periodically to clean out the tank bottom in order to maintain the desired capacity of the tank. For such operations, the usual procedure is to drain the tank and to remove the mud or accumulated silt while in a fluid or plastic state before any substantial drying or hardening occurs. A conventional procedure for doing this is to employ an endless track tractor, with front end scoop, commonly referred to as a cat or dozer. This is a time consuming and costly procedure for the reasons that the scoop associated with such tractors has a relatively limited practical load capacity and for the additional reason that the cat, despite its relatively large traction surface, loses traction and becomes bogged down due to the inherent fluid condition of the materials to be removed.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a mud removing device and method which is particularly adapted for use in cleaning stock tanks or ponds, which is adapted for use with a variety of towing vehicles, and which may accomplish the desired removal of mud or silt from the tank in a much shorter time then would be required with other known techniques.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple and ruggedly constructed scraping device for removing mud from ponds.

A further object of this invention is to provide such adevice for drawing a mud load from a pond bottom and drawing the load over the crest of the pond dam for discharge.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved method for removing silt from a pond including the use of a scraping device drawn back and forth by a pair of towing ;vehicles to effect respectively the positioning of the device for loading, and the loading and removal of the load.

These objects are accomplished with a device which comprises a frame defining support means for parallel upright side walls and a rear wall, and runner or skid means at the bottom edges of the side walls. Panel means mounted on the frame define the side walls. The rear wall is'defined by a gate having means at its top for swingably supporting the gate on the frame about a horizontal axis, with the gate being dimensioned to swing inward within the frame between the side walls. Stop means mounted on the frame limit outward swinging movement of the gate to form the enclosing end wall. Means are provided at the front and rear of the frame for securing towing lines thereto. In more particularity the device may include either upper rear end wall and side wall extensions, or a partial bottom wall at the rear end, to assist in preventing loss of the load just prior to discharge. w

A method for removing mud from a pond with a crested dam includes providing a scraping device having parallel side walls defining relatively narrow runners at the bottom edges and an inward swinging end gate for selectively opening and closing the rear end thereof, drawing the device rearwardly away from the darn across the pond bottom by means of a towing vehicle to permit the side walls to settle into the mud-with the gate riding on the mudto position the device for loading, drawing the device forwardly across the pond bottom by means of a second towing vehicle to effect the closing of the gate to confine a quantity of mud, and further drawing the device forwardly over the crest of the dam to affect the discharge of the mud from the front end of the device.

The novel features and the advantages of the invention as well as additional objects thereof, will be understood more fully from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the opera tion of a mud scraping device according to the invention in the cleaning of a stock tank;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one form of mud scraping device according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the gate of the device of FIG. 2, taken in a longitudinal vertical plane intermediate the sides;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view from the gate end of a device similar to that of FIG. '2 showing a modification of the gate lower edge;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken in the plane 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a mud scraping device similar to that of FIG. 2 but including a top wall;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view, partially broken away, of a device similar to that of FIG. 2 with top extensions of the side walls and rear wall; and

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a mud scraping device similar to that of FIG. 2 with a partial bottom wall adjacent to the gate end.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 of the drawing is a diagrammatic illustration of the method of use of a mud scraping device 20 according to the invention, and of the method of cleaning the mud from a stock tank according to the invention. As seen in this figure a stock tank 10 is formed in the earth by means of a relatively shallow excavation surrounded, at least in part, by a crested earthen dam 11. In this figure the normal bottom surface of the tank 12 is indicated by the broken line; and an accumulation of silt or mud 13 is shown. An endless track tractor 15 is coupled to the front end of the device 20 by means of a towing cable 16 for drawing the device forward as indicated by the solid arrow; and a farm tractor I7 is. coupled to the rear end of the device by means of a towing cable 18 for drawing the device rearward as indicated by the broken arrow in FIG. 1. The complete method of operation will be described subsequently.

The scraping device 20 is shown in a basic form in FIGS. 2 and 3, and includes a rectangular frame defined by parallel elongated bottom rails 21L and 21R which define runners or skids for the device, upright front posts 22L and 22R connected respectively to the front ends of the bottom rails 21L and 21R, upright rear posts23L and 23R extending upward respectively from the bottom rails 21L and 21R adjacent to the rear ends thereof, parallel top rails 24L and 24R disposed above the respective bottom rails 21L and 21R and joined to the upper ends of the respective posts, and front and rear bridging rails 25F and 25R respectively, with the front rail 25F being connected between the upper ends of the front posts and with the rear rail 25R being connected between the upper ends of the rear posts. As viewed in FIG. 2, the front end of the device is seen in the upper right and the rear end of the device is seen in the lower left with the frame members designated L defining the left side of the frame and the frame members designated R defining the right side of the frame.

By way of example, the dimensions of the device frame, and therefore of the device, may be: length ft.; width 8 ft.; and height 3 ft. It will be appreciated however that the device may be of any size suitable for the intended purpose. For a device having the above indicated dimensions, the frame may be fabricated for example out of 5 inch steel tubing or pipe welded into an integral frame. It will be understood however that any suitable framing members may be employed.

As indicated in the drawings, the side walls may be formed of panels 26L and 26R which may be in the form of steel plate suitably welded to the side wall portions of the frame. The side wall panels may be fabricated of any other suitable material, such as solid wood panels or fabricated boarded panels suitably secured to the frame, for example.

The rear end wall is defined by a gate 30 fabricated from a frame which includes a bottom rail 31, a pair of upright posts 32 and a pair of sleeves 33 secured to the upper ends of the posts and aligned parallel with the bottom rail 31. The bottom rail 31 and posts 32 are preferably fabricated from 5 inch steel pipe, as is the main frame in accordance with the above mentioned example, with the sleeves 33 being fabricated of a larger pipe dimensioned to freely rotate about the 5 inch rear bridging rail R to permit the gate to swing freely relative to the main frame. An end wall panel 34 is shown, by way of example, as a steel plate welded to the gate frame. The gate is dimensioned to swing within the main frame and side wall panels 26 and, when disposed in a generally vertical position, to define an end wall adjoining the rear ends of the device side walls to define a three walled enclosure.

For limiting the outward swinging movement of the gate 30, triangular stop members 35 are welded to the rearward extensions of the bottom rails 21L and 21R and extend toward each other in the plane of the bottom rails. The gate is so dimensioned that its bottom rail 31 swings into the plane of the bottom rails, in the vertical position, so that the gate bottom rail engages the stop members to limit outward swinging movement to the generally vertical position.

For drawing the device forward, the front towing cable 16 may include a yoke having its ends coupled to the respective front posts 22L and 22R adjacent to the lower ends thereof by means of cable clamps, with the cable passing through suitable holes provided in the side wall panels. Similarly, the rear cable 18 may include a yoke having its ends attached to the rear posts 23L and 23R adjacent to the lower ends thereof, with the cable passing through suitable holes provided in the side wall panels.

It may be particularly desirable that the gate bottom rail 31 be formed of a tubular member, or other suitably shaped member, to present a blunted edge to assist the gate in riding over obstructions without damage to the gate. Such a blunted edge however may present a difficulty in that the lower edge of the gate tends to be supported on the mud surface when the device is drawn forward, and therefore would interfere with the desired downward swinging of the gate to the vertical position to enclose the load. To obviate this, it may be desirable to provide bosses 37 which are secured to the lower surface of the bottom rail 31 and project downwardly to penetrate the mud surface and start the downward swing as the device is pulled foward. These bosses are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawing as a modification of the device of FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 6 of the drawing illustrates a form of scraper device identical to that described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, except that this device is provided with a top wall 41 illustrated in the form of a metal plate welded to the top rails and bridging rails of the device. The top wall 41, in the illustrated form, completely encloses the top of the device, and tends to cause the device to ride high when in the mud when the device is loaded and is being drawn toward the discharge side of the tank.

FIG. 7 of the drawing illustrates another modified form of scraper device 20, which is identical to the device described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 except that the rear end of the device is provided with a rear wall and side wall extensions. The rear wall extension is shown in the form of a metal plate 45 which is supported above the rear bridging rail 25R and inclined slightly forward with respect to the plane of the rear posts 23L and 23R. This rear wall extension may increase the height of the rear wall by about 65 percent for example.

The rearward ends of the side wall panels 26L and 26R include upper extensions 46 which have a height, at the rear end, coinciding with the height of the rear wall extension 45, with the upper edges inclining down wardly and forwardly to merge with the wall panels 26 at a point spaced from the front end of the device. The rear wall panel 45 may be welded to the rear edges of the side wall extensions 46; and strenghtening ribs 47 may be welded to the rear face of the rear wall extension to resist buckling of this panel.

These wall extensions are provided to prevent loss of the load when the device 20 assumes an inclined position illustrated in FIG. 7. With reference to FIG. 1, this condition would occur when the device is moved from the indicated generally level position to an inclined position which it would assume when it approaches and traverses the inner wall of the dam llrThe mud load would then shift and, if the device is substantially full, a portion of the load would be lost over the rear end of the device in the inclined position.

In another alternative form, the side wall extensions may be omitted, with the device being provided only with the suitably supported and braced rear wall extension 45. With this arrangement there would be some loss of load at the rear corners of the device when it assumes the inclined position, which loss would be greater or less depending'on the viscosity of the mud.

FIG. 8 of the drawing illustrates another modified form of the device which is similar to the device of FIGS. 2 and 3 except for the inclusion of a partial bottom wall panel 51, shown in the form of a metal plate welded between the bottom rails 21L and 21R and extending from the plane of the gate to a point midway along the length of the device. The function of this modified form of the device isto prevent loss of the load as the device moves over the crest of the dam just prior to load discharge. This can be visualized with reference to FIG. 1 where the tank is formed with a dam 11 having a relatively sharp crest. The scraping device 20 is drawn forwardly up over the crest 11 by the cat 15 and will be inclined with the forward end higher until such time as the weight of the device with load relative tothe crest causes the device to rock forward. With a sufficiently sharp crest, the rear end of the device would be lifted from the dam surface allowing at least a portion of the load to discharge on the pond side of the dam which of course is undesirable. With the illustrated partial bottom wall, the load would be held within the scraping device until the device is drawn sufficiently forward to discharge its load on the outer slope of the dam 11.

The operation of the device will now be described in connection withe method for removing mud from the bottom of a stock tank for example. Assuming that the device is of relatively large capacity, as described above by way of example, a heavy duty tractor, such as a cat 15, will be required to draw the device in a forward direction, with load, and is coupled to the device with a suitable towing cable 16. A lighter duty tractor, such as a heavy duty farm tractor 17, may be employed to draw the device in a rearward direction with this tractor again being suitably coupled to the device by means of a towing cable 18 which may be of smaller capacity than the vcable 16. The length of both cables should be sufficient so that the device may traverse the desired span of the tank with the tractors remaining on the periphery or outer dam walls of the tank 10. Of course, with smaller capacity devices, lighter duty pulling vehicles or devices may be employed.

Assuming that the scraping device 20 is initially I placed on a dam 11 at the discharge side, the device is first drawn rearwardly by the tractor 17 to a desired point to obtain a full load, with the tractor 15 being backed to slacken the cable 16. The gate will automatically swing inward to minimize resistance to movement. The tractor 17 is then backed up to slacken its cable 18 and the cat 15 then draws the device forward up and just over the crest of the dam 11 to a point where the device will be tilted with its front end lower than its rear end to permit the mud load to flow out of the device onto the inclined outer face of the dam. The cat 15 is then backed off to slacken its cable 16 while the tractor 17 again pulls the device rearward to position for another load. This procedure is repeatedly performed; and the tractors may move around the periphery of the pond as'the cleaning progresses to provide for discharge of the mud at desired points about the periphery of the tank.

While, in the foregoing description of the method for cleaning a stock tank, reference is made to towing vehicles such as endless track tractors and farm tractors, it will be understood that other types of towing vehicles or devices may be employed particularly where the mud scraping device is of smaller capacity. Devices of smaller capacity may still be used advantageously for faster cleaning'of a tank in comparison with the described known techniques. By way of example, lighter duty farm tractors or even farm trucks may be used as the towing vehicles. Alternatively, winches or hoists may be used which may either be winches mounted on suitable vehicles, or fixed installations, that is winches which are anchored to the earth. In the uses of fixed winch installations, the path of the device traversing the pond may be varied to the use of pulley blocks which may be selectively positioned and anchored to fix the paths of the drawing cables.

What has been described is an improved device and method for removing silt, mud or other debris from a farm pond or stock tank for example. In the use of a device having a basic form described with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3, and having the approximate dimensions previously referred to, that isa length of 10 ft., a width of 8 ft., and the height of 3 ft. It has been observed that the size of a practical load removed from the pond by a single pass of the device may be 5 or 6 cubic yards. When compared with the practical load of about l/2 cubic yard which may be removed by the single pass of a cat, it will be seen that the tank may be cleaned in a much shorter period of time without, the possibility of additional loss of time due to bogging down of the cat in the soft bottom of the tank.

Particular features and advantages of the device and system are the simple and rugged structure of the device, the simplicity of the system employing conventional and readily available towing vehicles and resulting in minimum set up time, and the adaptability of the system to varying conditions and terrain immediately surrounding the tank.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for scraping mud from a tank comprising a frame comprising a pair of elongated planar side frame assemblies fabricated from beam members, and interconnecting front and rear beam members supporting said side frame assemblies in parallel relation, said beam members being rugged structural members; said side frame assemblies being horizontally elongated assemblies defining elongated runners at the bottom edges thereof;

panel means mounted on said side frame assemblies to define parallel sidewalls;

gate means defining a rear wall for said device; said gate means comprising a frame defined by a bottom rail, at least two vertical struts extending upwardly from said bottom rail, at least two hinge said struts and being horizontally aligned parallel to said bottom rail, and panel means secured to said gate frame; said hinge sleeves being rotationally supported on a horizontal interconnecting member of said device frame; said gate being dimensioned to swing inward between said side walls; stop .means mounted on said frame to limit outward swinging movement of said gate to a generally vertical plane;

means provided at the front of said frame for securing towing lines thereto; and means provided at the rear of said frame for securing towing lines thereto.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said gate bottom rail is fabricated of a member defining a broad, blunted bottom edge of said gate.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 sleeves secured respectively to the upper ends of wherein said broad, blunted gate bottom rail is provided with one or more downward extending bosses for penetrating the mud surface.

4. A device for scraping mud from a tank comprising a frame comprising a pair of elongated planar side frame assemblies fabricated from beam members, and interconnecting front and rear beam members supporting said side frame assemblies in parallel relation, said beam members being rugged structural members; said side frame assemblies being horizontally elongated assemblies defining elongated runners at the bottom edges thereof;

panel means mounted on said side frame assemblies to define parallel side walls;

gate means defining a rear wall, having means mounted at the top thereof for swingably supportmeans provided at the front of said frame for securing towing lines thereto; and means provided at the rear of said frame for securing towing lines thereto;

wherein said runners extend rearwardly beyond the end plane defined by the side wall rear edges; and wherein said stop means comprise brackets secured to said runner rearward extensions disposed in the plane defined by said runners for engagement by the bottom rail of said gate. 

1. A device for scraping mud from a tank comprising a frame comprising a pair of elongated planar side frame assemblies fabricated from beam members, and interconnecting front and rear beam members supporting said side frame assemblies in parallel relation, said beam members being rugged structural members; said side frame assemblies being horizontally elongated assemblies defining elongated runners at the bottom edges thereof; panel means mounted on said side frame assemblies to define parallel sidewalls; gate means defining a rear wall for said device; said gate means comprising a frame defined by a bottom rail, at least two vertical struts extending upwardly from said bottom rail, at least two hinge sleeves secured respectively to the upper ends of said struts and being horizontally aligned parallel to said bottom rail, and panel means secured to said gate frame; said hinge sleeves being rotationally supported on a horizontal interconnecting member of said device frame; said gate being dimensioned to swing inward between said side walls; stop means mounted on said frame to limit outward swinging movement of said gate to a generally vertical plane; means provided at the front of said frame for securing towing lines thereto; and means provided at the rear of said frame for securing towing lines thereto.
 2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said gate bottom rail is fabricated of a member defining a broad, blunted bottom edge of said gate.
 3. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said broad, blunted gate bottom rail is provided with one or more downward extending bosses for penetrating the mud surface.
 4. A device for scraping mud from a tank comprising a frame comprising a pair of elongated planar side frame assemblies fabricated from beam members, and interconnecting front and rear beam members supporting said side frame assemblies in parallel relation, said beam members being rugged structural members; said side frame assemblies being horizontally elongated assemblies defining elongated runners at the bottom edges thereof; panel means mounted on said side frame assemblies to define parallel side walls; gate means defining a rear wall, having means mounted at the top thereof for swingably supporting said gate on an interconnecting frame member about a horizontal axis; said gate being dimensioned to swing inward between said side walls; stop means mounted on said frame to limit outward swinging movement of said gate to a generally vertical plane; means provided at the front of said frame for securing towing lines thereto; and means provided at the rear of said frame for securing towing lines thereto; wherein said runners extend rearwardly beyond the end plane defined by the side wall rear edges; and wherein said stop means comprise brackets secured to said runner rearward extensions disposed in the plane defined by said runners for engagement by the bottom rail of said gate. 